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As expected, the government published Finance (No.3) Bill on Wednesday, 7 November 2018. The Bill is so named as it is the third Finance Bill in the current special two-year session of Parliament. The Bill contains the legislation for many of the tax measures announced by the Government at Autumn Budget 2017 some of which have since been

There are tax consequences for both companies and directors relating to the issue of director’s loans. We will examine below some of the implications if a company facilitates loans to a director. A director’s loan comprises not just an actual loan, but can also include other payments made by the company for the personal benefit of a

An overdrawn director's loan account is created when a director (or other close family members) 'borrows' money from their company. Many companies, particularly 'close' private companies, pay for personal expenses of directors using company funds. Where these payments do not form part of a director’s remuneration, they are usually posted

New rules were introduced by the Government in 2015 that allow for the spouse or civil partner of a deceased ISA saver to benefit from additional ISA benefits. Under the rules, if an ISA saver in a marriage or civil partnership dies, their spouse or civil partner inherits their ISA tax advantages.
Surviving spouses are able to save an

A recent First-Tier Tribunal case examined the complex issue of whether a group of 60 football referees should be classified as employees or self-employed. HMRC argued that the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) was the employer of the group of football referees in question. On this basis, HMRC raised assessments for a

Business Property Relief (BPR) is an attractive tax relief for taxpayers with business interests, offering either 50% or 100% relief from Inheritance Tax (IHT) on the value of their business assets if certain conditions are met. The relief can even be used whilst the donor is still alive, and the estate can still get BPR on qualifying

There are special rules that must be considered when buying and selling assets in foreign currency. This is sometimes known as a barter transaction. As a general rule when a foreign currency transaction takes place at arm's length, the value of the consideration is the sterling equivalent of the amount paid for the asset at the date of

The Living Wage Foundation (an initiative of Citizens UK) recently announced Living Wage rates for London and the UK at £10.55 an hour and £9 an hour respectively. These Living Wage rates are not statutorily binding but represent an increase of 25p in the UK and 35p in London over the current rates. The new Living Wage rates were

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is a tax that is generally payable on the purchase or transfer of land and property in England and Northern Ireland. It is also payable in respect of certain lease premiums. Higher rates of SDLT were introduced on 1 April 2016 and apply to purchases of additional residential property such as buy to let and

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has published updated security guidance on encryption and on passwords in online services under the GDPR.
The GDPR requires data controllers to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to ensure they process personal data securely. Article 32 of the GDPR includes encryption

The High Income Child Benefit Charge (HICBC) came into force in January 2013. It applies to taxpayers whose income exceeds £50,000 in a tax year and who are in receipt of child benefit. The charge claws back the financial benefit of receiving child benefit either by reducing or removing the benefit entirely.
HMRC has confirmed that it

A change to the VAT rules first announced at Budget 2018 will come into effect from 1 October 2019. This change will make the supply of construction services between construction or building businesses subject to the domestic reverse charge. The reverse charge will only apply to supplies of specified construction services to other

The Chancellor announced a number of measures to help many failing high streets up and down the country, as they face a real threat to their existence as footfall continues to be impacted. The growing use of online shopping has caused many large retailers to close down or reduce the number of stores they run, especially in smaller towns

In the Budget, the Chancellor, Philip Hammond announced two changes to the way Entrepreneurs’ Relief (ER) will operate. ER applies to the sale of a business, shares in a trading company or an individual’s interest in a trading partnership. Where this relief is available Capital Gains Tax (CGT) of 10% is payable in place of the standard

One of the more surprising announcements in the recent Budget was the introduction of a new 2% Digital Services Tax (DST) from April 2020. This tax is intended to ensure that the major social media, search engine and online retailers are subject to a 2% tax on revenues generated from the participation of UK users in the use of their

The introduction of Making Tax Digital (MTD) will fundamentally change the way businesses, the self-employed and landlords interact with HMRC. The new regime will require businesses and individuals to register, file, pay and update their information using a new online tax account.
The new regime is due to start in April 2019 for VAT

1 November 2018 - Due date for Corporation Tax due for the year ended 31 January 2018.
19 November 2018 - PAYE and NIC deductions due for month ended 5 November 2018. (If you pay your tax electronically the due date is 22 November 2018.)
19 November 2018 - Filing deadline for the CIS300 monthly return for the month ended 5 November

The Chancellor has confirmed that from 2019-20 the personal allowance will increase to £12,500 (an increase from the current £11,850 allowance) and the basic rate limit to £37,500. As a result, the higher rate threshold will increase to £50,000 from April 2019.
These increases deliver on the government’s manifesto commitment to increase

The Chancellor used his Budget speech to confirm that increased National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW) rates are due to come into effect on 1 April 2019.
The NLW first came into effect on 1 April 2016, and is the minimum hourly rate that must be paid to those aged 25 or over. From 1 April 2019 the National Living

The Chancellor’s announcement of a temporary five-fold increase in the Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) will be welcomed by many small and medium sized businesses looking to incur significant capital expenditure on plant and machinery.
The Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) was permanently set at £200,000 for all qualifying expenditure

As a general rule, there is no Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on a property which has been used wholly as a main family residence. This relief from CGT is commonly known as Private Residence Relief. Conversely, an investment property that has never been used as a main residence will not qualify.
Two changes to the way Private Residence Relief

The Chancellor confirmed in his Budget speech that the taxable turnover threshold that determines whether businesses should be registered for VAT, will be frozen at £85,000 for a further 2 years from 1 April 2020 until 31 March 2022. The taxable turnover threshold that determines whether businesses can apply for deregistration will also

Air Passenger Duty (APD) is a departure tax levied on most air travel. Each geographical band has two rates of Air Passenger Duty, one for standard class and the second for 'other' higher classes of travel (usually premium economy / business / first class). Currently, band A (short-haul) ranges from £13 for a standard class journey and

As part of the Budget measures the Chancellor announced that the duty rates on beers, spirits and most ciders will be frozen at the current rates. These measures mean that a bottle of whisky will be £1.54 less and a pint of beer 14p less than if the rates had increased as expected based on the duty escalator.
However, the Chancellor did